Quest of Dungeons

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Quest of Dungeons review
Johnathan Irwin

Review

A roguelike for casual players

Stay Classy


As I started up Quest of Dungeons for the first time, I found myself intrigued. I was treated to sprite representations of classes RPG fans will no doubt be fond of: Warrior, Wizard, Assassin, and Shaman. However, there is little variation amongst the classes except for the fact that two specialize in ranged, one in melee, and one lacks a specialization in favor of a melee and ranged combo.

Each of these classes start out with two abilities, with others being able to be added to your collection as you find skill books throughout the dungeons. While each class has their strength and weaknesses, I feel that two outshine the others in terms of their abilities that make them nearly broken, making the game far too easy even on the hardest difficulty setting: the Wizard and the Assassin. As it stands, if you want the greatest challenge, you'll find yourself playing the warrior because it is the one class that cannot rely on range as an asset in combat.

The Journey Begins...


My intrigue turned to a satisfied smirk as the introduction went from the cookie-cutter story of heroes battling evil, to one hero being sent on the adventure on his own while the other three comically explain why they cannot assist him, "You have a sword," said one while another quickly agreed, "You totally have a sword."

From that little introduction, you are released into Floor 1 of the multi-leveled dungeon. Good luck finding the quickest way to victory by finding all the loot, and the quickest path to the next floor, because, in true roguelike fashion, the loot spawns are randomized and every floor of the dungeon is procedurally generated. Each floor also has a chance to spawn quests, although they all boil down to simple fetch quests or kill a certain enemy. The randomization overall ends up being the true star of the game.

That being said, there is only so much variety you will get out of the dungeons. After a short while you will come to notice that while the layouts may be different, not much else changes from room to room other than the textures changing when you move to a different floor. The same can be said for the enemies that you encounter. While there are lots of different looking mobs to fight, they all essentially act the same, making it feel as though they are basic re-skins rather than different enemies.

Did You Stab Me? Or Tickle Me?


I mentioned earlier that two of the four classes completely overpower pretty much the entirety of the game's enemies, and that playing as the warrior offered the greatest challenge. What I didn't say is that even the greatest challenge is kind of a joke and left me wanting something more. Even on the hardest difficulty, none of the normal enemies will give you a challenge unless you happen to stumble upon a crowded room of them with low health. These enemies are about as threatening as a newborn baby with a teething ring, and even then that's being quite generous; a baby could at least throw a good tantrum and provide a more intense moment than what this game offers.

Though there are times where you will find yourself submitted to somewhat of a challenge, these come in the form of uninspired boss battles which essentially boil down to having enough health items to outlast the enemy. The lack of difficulty itself makes the permadeath feature nearly useless; why have it if there really is no danger?

Uninspired is also the term I would use for the combat in general. You have your basic attack, which you will be using more than anything, and your special attacks generally boil down to one or two that you will only need to use during boss fights. There's no real strategy to this turn based RPG, and any attempt to find a strategy in it will likely result in frustration at missed opportunities and poor decisions during the streamlining process to make the game more accessible to a wide variety of gamers.

Redemption


Quest of Dungeons can only be called a role playing game sparingly, but at the same time I see it as a positive. It doesn't take itself too seriously, what we have here is the product of a dedicated developer who is simply trying to make a fun game, for a fair price. In the indie realm where so many things can often go wrong, I saw nothing wrong with this game that didn't come across as intentional or a product of limitations in the base nature of the game. Simply put, this is one game I've played in a long time where I've encountered zero glitches.

Although the game is far too easy, and after a short while it can become extremely repetitive, the relaxing nature and steady pace makes Quest of Dungeons a title akin to the type of game a casual gamer would seek out: something to play and relax without the need to get too serious about it. The often soothing soundtrack on top of the simplistic game mechanics and carefree nature of what little story there is, reinforces the relaxing casual style this game embraces fully.

While I may not suggest buying this title in comparison to others, if you've already played all that you feel like playing, but are looking for a decent time killer with an RPG flavor, Quest of Dungeons may be worth checking out.

6.5

fun score

Pros

A Relaxing Way To Kill Time, Soothing Soundtrack, Good Amount Of Humor, Randomized Dungeons and Loot

Cons

Few Major Differences Between Player Classes, Uninspired Combat, Repetitive Environments, Enemies quickly feel reused after the first floor of the dungeon